After a gallant 2-1 loss to powerhouse France, Australia will be in desperation mode Thursday when it takes on Denmark at 8 a.m. ET in the 2018 World Cup. Sports books list the Danes, who won their opener 1-0 over Peru, at -105, meaning you would need to bet $105 to win $100 on a Denmark win. Australia is at +450 (risk $100 to win $450), while a draw is at +265. The over-under on total goals scored in this 2018 World Cup match is two. Before you make your 2018 World Cup picks, you need to see what European football expert David Sumpter has to say.

Sumpter is an applied mathematician who wrote Soccermatics, the book that shows how math works inside the game. Together with experienced analysts, Sumpter developed the powerful Soccerbot model.

The Soccerbot reads all team performance data, calculates key metrics and predicts upcoming matches. In the nearly three seasons since it was born, the Soccerbot is up an impressive 1,800 percent on bookmakers’ closing odds. The Soccerbot already called Brazil-Switzerland playing to a draw (+360), Argentina-Iceland ending in a draw (+385) and Iran upsetting Morocco (+275), just to name a few.

We can tell you he’s leaning over, but his more confident pick is on the money line. He’s only sharing it over at SportsLine.

Sumpter knows Denmark will trot out the best player in Christian Eriksen, the Tottenham midfielder who scored 11 goals in European qualifying and assisted on the only goal in his team’s World Cup opener. Behind Eriksen’s well-timed counterattacks, Denmark could clinch a spot in the 2018 World Cup knockout stage Thursday, assuming France dispatches Peru as expected.

The Danes haven’t reached the Round of 16 since 2002.

But Australia opened some eyes in its 2-1 loss to France. The Aussies held possession 49 percent of the time, played staunch defense and got a goal from their inspirational leader, captain Mile Jedinak. If not for a controversial penalty shot awarded to France via video review, the Socceroos might have earned a draw.